Music Man
by Eos Sol
Summary: A lonely sax player taking on his former legend's dream. A girl barely passing college. They have nothing in common, but they are pulled together none the less.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

A.N.: I've done my research on the Sax, but I don't play it. So for any of you out there that do play the Sax, I'm sorry if I screw anything up.

Summery: He hated the sax, but without it, he knew his world would crumble. If he wasn't able to press his nimble fingers against the keys, he would break apart. He grew up only knowing the sax, and he would die only know it as well. His world revolved around the metal instrument and the sounds it made. He would live for the dream that his legend had never completed. But how would he do that, when she comes into his world?

………………

He hated that damn thing. Hated every little piece of it. Right from the brass base to the stupid little reed on the mouth piece. Some days he wanted to stomp on it then throw it out the window to land on some poor unexpected victim. But then again…

He loved it. Loved the way it fit perfectly to him. He loved its sound and unique way of taking over his whole being. Oh, how he could spend all day sitting in front of his music stand and create such lively music from the complex yet simple instrument.

The almost 30 year old man continued drying his platinum hair as his bullion eyes glared at the harmless saxophone sitting silently on his couch across from him. He was very tall, but very slender and many had mistaken him for a woman in his high school and college years when he began growing out his hair. They only realized he, Sesshomaru, was a male when his rich voice told them to go to hell.

No, he wasn't a sweet man, never was. And, he vowed, never would be. At a very young age he let his emotions fade into dust while every one around him kept living thru the good and hard times that life gave them, and show what they were feeling. His mother, before she had died, told him to be strong and to always think with his heart first. Sadly…his heart was like the Grinch's. Three sizes to small.

Sesshomaru couldn't remember how many times his father told him to smile nor how many times his brother told him to, quote, 'take that 30 fucking foot rod out of your fucking stuck up ass.' It was one of his favorite sayings the young boy had made and always brought a small sad smile to his face. If his brother only knew why he was so callous… Of course if his brother would never because the only person who would know why he acted the way he did would be him, Sesshomaru.

"Damn piece of heaven sent shit." He tossed the wet towel on the floor before grabbing the instrument and shivering. Damn, metal could get cold. His lips curled before he placed them on the mouth piece and began pressing his fingers to the keys. Playing a simple song yet such a beautiful one you'd be crazy to call it trash. What a sad man he had become, not even able to resists the thing that brought him pain.

"Hey, Sess, you home ass?" His concentration broke when the door slammed open and the voice carried thru the small apartment. It was small, yes, but cheep. The pros out weighed the cons when buying (yes buying, not renting) the place. There were only three other occupants of the building and none of them mind when he played his sax (even when he would wake up around the middle of the night to play). And since the building was on the bad side of town, no one came around to see about renting, so it was peaceful (not counting the sirens of passing police cars or gun fights)

"What an un-necessary question brat." Sesshomaru set the instrument in its case then headed into the kitchen slash dining area to grab a beer. His brother grinned and snatched it before he could drink from the can.

"I know, but I got to bug you some how." The older of the two rolled his eyes and grabbed another can before settling into an old wood chair that screamed to be fixed with some wood glue instead of duck tape.

"You annoy me just by coming here."

"I do? Well damn, if I knew that I would show up every day." He gulped when a heated glare was sent his way. "Never mind…"

"What does he want now?"

"Hold on, I got a list." Inuyasha, his younger half brother, set down his beer and began rummaging thru his pants.

"A list? You're kidding."

"Sadly no." then with a victorious smirk he pulled out a wrinkled folded paper and tossed it to the sax player. Sess set his can down and unfolded the paper, reading the large, bold, broken hand writing on the paper made him cringe. His father was nearing his late fifties yet it seemed as if her were in his 70s the way he wrote. "He's getting worse Sess…the doctors say there's no more they can do. His hands have arthritis so bad and his lungs are like the thinnest of glass."

"I won't go to him." He laid the sheet down.

"Damn it, he's dying!"

Sesshomaru clenched his teeth before he forced words past his lips. "Shut the hell up." Inuyasha stared at him before running a hand thru his hair and closing his eyes.

"How can you be so cold? He's in pain and he's sorry. He's trying to make it up to you, can't you see that?"

"He's 15 years too late." Inuyasha sighed in defeat. He pulled out a pen and handed it to his older brother. "What's this for?"

"At least answer his questions Sess…if not for him, then for Rin? She misses you and wants to know how you are as well." Rin. That name brought a smile to Sesshomaru's face. She was not their sister, nor was she adopted, she was just a girl that he had come across and had hung on. His father let her stay, but they never really went thru adoption and no one ever reported a missing child that had her characteristics, so…she was just there.

He studied the pen before taking it and looking at the paper. "Fine." and that was all he said. He answered the questions with simple short answers, adding no detail more then necessary or any thing that would lead into more questions. When he was done, he shoved the paper and pen back into Inuyasha's hand, gave him his beer then shoved him out of his apartment (ignoring all the 'you damn ass' –es and 'you fucking prick, quit shoving!' –s, of course).

The door slammed shut and the apartment filled with quietness once more along with only the sound of the wind coming thru his open windows.

"God, if you're real, send lighting to strike me down now…And if you're not real then Devil, you can do it for him… And if neither of you are real…then I need some serious help." He walked toward his couch, grabbing his sax along the way, sat and played out 'The sound Of Silence'

……………

I know, I know, really short. (I'm disappointed too) I really wanted it to be more spectacular but to start off with this is good. I swear next chapter we will have some action and it will be a LOT longer. Plllleeeeeaaasssssseeee review, thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

Boo! I'm ba-a-a-a-ack!!! Yay! Enjoy!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

……………

Out of all the patrons at the run down bar, he couldn't understand why he was attracted to the small woman trying to look invisible. There was nothing really special he could see about her in the poor lighting, only that her feet were encased in Gucci pumps while the rest of her clothes were less spectacular.

_Wrong part of town to be wearing those in_, Sesshomaru thought with a chuckle, meaning her shoes, as he took a sip of his whiskey. It burned his throat like hell but it always seemed to help him before a show. The burn usually opening his lugs to suck in more air and slow down his exhaling time.

He looked the woman over again, noticing the second time she was actually reading a book and had a beer bottle in front of her. An interesting combination for any woman considering most women he knew would go thirsty before even looking at a beer. He tilted his head to the side trying to see the book title and actually found it to be a college text book. Calculus AP? What kind of woman would come into a run down bar just to read a math book?

Sesshomaru got up from his chair near the stage and moved over to the bar to take a seat by her. Casually he asked the bartender for a refill before his set, then turned to the woman. Taking in her black hair and brown eyes that were attracted to the words in the book, Sess admitted she could be quiet beautiful with maybe a little bit of help from cosmetics.

Yes, Sess was a man to base a person on their looks, but he also took a minute afterwards to look into their eyes and find out what the person was really about. He learned over the years (from family and exes) the only real way to find out about someone was to stare straight into the colored pools of muscle tissue.

After a few minutes, and a shot of whiskey later, the woman finally turned her head and raised an eyebrow at him, meeting his eyes that were still trained on her.

"Yes?"

"I'm wondering why a under aged student would be on this side of town, this time of night, wearing those shoes, drinking a beer in this bar and reading a Calculus text book." He calmly asked questions in more of a statement way.

"For your information, I am not under aged, I know what part of town I'm in, it is barley 12, my shoes have nothing to do with anything, beer was the only thing I could stomach, and I'm failing college because of this one class." And with that she snapped her head back around and looked back into her book. Sess was quite amazed at how she calmly (with the use of many words) told him to 'fuck off'. Any other woman would have instantly tried to flirt with him and try to take him to bed.

Yes, he had a big ego when it came to women and him.

"Sess, you're up." The bartender's hushed voice told him. He nodded, got up and went to the stage. His true love was already up there and ready to be used, never caring when or how. Glossy and gleaming in the spot light now upon the stage, his careful hands picked up the saxophone and slipped the strap around his neck before wrapping his lips around the newly installed reed on the mouth piece.

It took less then a minute to finally choose a song to play before coaxing the sounds from the instrument. Five minutes later and every head in the house were turned to the stage, lost in the simple beauty of sound.

……………

Kagome couldn't believe that the arrogant ass could produce such beautiful music. As much as she wanted to say it was crap (and she really, really, **really** wanted to say it was crap) she couldn't. The way the sound came from the horn of the sax and flowed around the room to entangle everyone in its notes was…magical.

Moments before he was the run of the mill sleaze ball and now he was up on stage like Apollo (1) captivating everyone in a mere second.

Kagome sighed listening to him. Her troubles completely vanishing from her mind as the music took up its space. How anyone could play the way he did, must have made a deal with the devil. She'd been practicing the piano for years and it in no way sounded like he did with the sax! She had to admit though…he was handsome.

Long silver hair, hazel gold eyes, high cheek bones, thin jaw…he could have been a male model with his looks. It made a person wonder why he was in a bar playing a saxophone. Kagome sure did, he had the personality to match a model. After all, she dealt with snobs on regular basis. One of the reasons she was here at the moment.

She couldn't understand why she told the taxi driver to drop her off here instead of The Lounge, an upscale expensive café/bar. The barely hanging sign in neon pink should have scared her off at first glance, but noooooo… She just had to square her shoulders and march in (which was more keeping her eyes to the ground trying to be meek as a mouse).

When the bartender asked what she wanted to drink, she nearly jumped out of her skin and screamed. A man at a table chuckled at her and she threw him a nasty glare before ordering a beer and setting her college book on the bar.

It was true, she, Kagome Madison Higurashi, daughter to Ryu Marcus Higurashi IV and Amiee Anastasia Charleston-Higurashi, was failing College AP Calculus…She was doomed! If either of her parents ever found out she would have more trouble then just having to attend snobbish fundraisers. She could hire a tutor but that would raise suspicion and her parents would check her grades…maybe if she stayed after class with her teacher? No, he was a pervert and there were stories of him sleeping with students. Hmm… maybe she could study with a fellow student, no boys, there was no way she would be trapped into a pity date…but then again, the girls would ask for clothes from her mother's fashion line…No study sessions.

Kagome heaved a sigh, turned away from the stage and back to her book.

It was impossible for her to concentrate on it…especially now that the music was playing. She would enjoy the music and simply put her problems to the corner of her mind for the moment.

Twenty five minutes later, before the last of the cords dissolved from the air, Kagome shut the cover of her book and picked it up, paid for her unfinished beer and walked out. Hopefully she could hail a cab if she walked to the main streets.

Looking around the deserted streets sent a chill up her spine. After looking around more, she turned on her heel and headed back to the bar. She wasn't going to take a chance on being mugged or rapped. Doubtful if many police were around right now anyways.

"Ow…" she backed away from the wall she ran into. She was sure there was no building behind her when she was walking. Rubbing her forehead she looked up and narrowed her eyes. "What?" an elegant eyebrow raised and mouth smirked.

"You should be more careful." The smooth baritone of his voice matched his saxophone.

"Well, I didn't know someone would be standing behind me."

"My point exactly." He grabbed her arm and started walking.

"What the hell are you doing?! Let go of me!"

"Quiet, you're going to make people think I'm raping you." He ignored her attempts to get free.

"They might be right, let go!"

"Listen, do you want to hail a cab being alive or do you want to end up in an ambulance in the morning?"

"Would it matter my answer?" Kagome sent a heated glare at him that could boil water. He glared back her with ice that took the fight out of her.

"Geeze, you're a pain in the ass. I tried being friendly and now you're just pissing me off."

"You call being aggressive being friendly?"

"I wasn't being aggressive; I was trying to help a crazy woman."

"I am most certainly not crazy!"

"You're wearing Gucci over in the ghettos; you're either crazy or stupid. I'm going with crazy since stupid wouldn't fit." He nodded to the text book under her arm. Kagome was at a loss for words and didn't struggle when he began dragging her along. After walking a few minutes, Kagome finally muttered a small 'thank you' then went back to being mute. Sesshomaru sent her a heart stopping smile and continued walking. She glared at his back after wards.

_What a playboy. He better be taking me to get a cab or I'll swear I'll scream Bloody Mary…If he sends me another one of those damn smiles I'll do it anyways. _Kagome huffed, tugged her arm away from his grip and kept walking. Sess just sent her an amused look, stuffed his hands in his pockets and led the way.

"Where's your saxophone?"

"It's at the bar. My apartment is in the other direction so I'll pick up when I'm walking back."

"Oh."

"How did you get to the bar?"

"Taxi." She glared when he chuckled and shook his head. "What?"

"Next time you come into these parts make sure you have a ride home. Not everyone is as nice as me."

"You're nice?"

"G'Bye." he turned on his foot and walked in the opposite direction.

"Wait! Don't leave, I'm…I am sorry, I will no longer question your motives or personality."

"And?" Sess pursued.

"And what? I said sorry."

"For earlier."

"What did I do earlier? I answered those questions you asked." Sess turned and threw an arm over her shoulder.

"To put it simply Ms. Proper, you didn't answer my questions you told me to fuck off." Kagome huffed and shrugged her shoulders but Sess stubbornly kept his arm over her shoulders.

"Fine, I am sorry to have told you, as you say, 'fuck off'."

"That's better." He patted her head and walked her the rest of the way to the main street. He also hailed a cab for her and opened the door for her. "See you around princess."

"Not likely." She slipped in the back seat and he shut the door for her. A few seconds later and the cab pulled off with a smirking musician watching.

……………

Upon arriving home, Kagome received a slap on the hand and was denied dinner. She didn't mind, after all she was sure Kaede, the head cook and her former nanny, would bring up a plate when her parents retired for bed. She waved her hand at her younger brother when passing his room then went into hers and crashed on the bed.

It was times like this she wished her parents allowed her to live at the dorm. She could go and come as she pleased (as long as the main gates weren't closed) and she wouldn't have to sit with her family and eat a formal dinner.

The black haired young lady casually threw her text book on top her desk in the corner then flopped upon her queen sized bed. Releasing a long sigh, she turned over and began going over her schedule for tomorrow. It would be her parents' 22nd anniversary and her brother's 14th birthday. How he managed to be born on the same day their parents exchanged vows years ago, was a mystery to her.

Not that she minded celebrating her family's accomplishments, she just found it quite repetitive.

It was the same, year after year. Famous musical guests, extraordinary cooks, hundreds of guests, tons of flashy clothes, jewels, wrappings, etc. It was just last year (or the year before, Kagome couldn't remember) that Wolfgang Puck arranged all the food. This year, it was sure to be someone who even surpassed his skills.

But, not only did Kagome have to deal with her family flaunting their money, but also many of her mother's and father's…acquaintances. For surely they were not friends! No, friends wouldn't go to such lengths to out shine the other at every turn…even the most callous of friends would let the other have a moment of fame.

Likely tomorrow she would have a hand full of invitations to some type of event that she would almost certainly turn down…until her mother found out and forced her to show face at each and every one. Then at each of those parties, she would receive more invites and the cycle would repeat. Such was her social life outside of school activities.

Among school, she was just another number adding more money to their black hole bank accounts, exhausting her self to keep up her grades and forced to endure long stretched out sermons of facts.

Don't get her wrong, Kagome was very thankful for the fact she could slowly be put into a comatose state while earning some degree she had no idea what she would use for. It's just that she wished there were something, anything, to brighten up her morbid routine.

The woman gave an unladylike snort and sat up glaring at her awaiting chores of paper work that would only be handed back to her with negative praises. What she would give if she could grade the professor's of their lectures. Many would receive a mark below the failure points.

A dainty knock came upon her door, before a plump woman entered with a silver tray laden with a silver cover over no doubt a fancy prepared plate.

"Mother will redden your ears, Kaede." The younger woman smiled lovingly at the family's cook. The older shrugged her shoulder and sat the tray upon her young mistress' bed.

"Can't be having you study with no nutrition. After all, no food before long periods of cramming gives you head aches remember?" The cook patted Kagome's head and headed away. Before she left she threw over her shoulder "And I best not see one crumb of food on that plate when I come to collect it." Then shut the door with a definite click.

"Tyrant." Kagome giggled, lifted the cover and sighed at the home made meal. Of course Kaede would ignore the dinner prepared for the rest of the family and bring her something special. Something southern made and topped with a nice wallop of creamy gravy. Sometimes, she wondered what she would do with out the angel down in the kitchen…starve most likely.

Kagome dug in with abundance to the food and in a short time appeased her appetite. Feely much more energized, Kagome got up and went to her desk to start in earnest to finish her school work. Hopefully, though, she would get more then just 60 percent right this time.

Many hours later, Kagome snuggled into her warm waiting bed and said prayers for intelligence and thanks. Closing her eyes she fell off into a deep dreamless sleep.

……………

Sesshomaru finished cleaning his sax and gently laid it down in to the caressing velvet of its case. Closing the lid he sighed and wondered if this was all he would ever have to warm his nights. Sure, he could go to some local club and seduce a woman for a night but for some reason that never appealed to him. He was never at a shortage for female admirers (even males at times were drawn to him) but he could never bring himself to go pass harmless flirting.

He sat up on the wide window sill and looked upon the dim stars sprinkled about the dusky night time sky. Maybe, just maybe there was something out there for him, something he had yet not seen, like many of the hidden suns of the solar system. Only time would allow what was to be, be. And with a silent good night to his distant family he headed off to bed, only to have nightmares of musical notes, colors and sounds.

……………

(1) I read somewhere that as well as being the God of the Sun, he also was the god of music and other things.

A.N. This story isn't going exactly how I want so… I like the concept of it but I don't think how I'm typing it is doing it any justice. I want it to be sensual as well as real life. I never played the sax, so I'm failing on how Sesshomaru's feelings are towards the instrument, and I'm not rich nor do I follow the latest trends (I don't watch or read mainstream things) so how Kagome lives and acts isn't how I want it. Any ways, thanks for reading!


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